Would
you rather write in an isolated cabin that was infested with spiders or in a
noisy coffee shop with bad musak?

Oh
my, anything but spiders! I’ll take the noisy coffee shop. Bring on the musak.
I’ll even sing along. It’s noisy in there anyway, right?

Would
you rather think in a language you could understand but write in one you
couldn’t read, or think in a language you couldn’t understand but write in one
you could read?

I
had to think hard about that one, but I will go with think in a language that I
could understand even if it meant writing in one I couldn’t read. I’d hope that
others could read my work, and I’d hope I could read others’ writing.

Would
you rather write the best book of your career and never publish it or publish a
bunch of books that leave you feeling unsatisfied?

Well,
not to cheat out of a real answer, but I’d choose to publish a bunch of books
that left me unsatisfied as long as they were actually good. I can be insecure,
so I could imagine that, even if I wrote a masterpiece, I may not be fully
satisfied.

Would you rather have everything you
think automatically appear on your Twitter feed or have a voice in your head
narrate your every move?

I’ll
go with the voice in my head narrating my every move. I’m pretty patient, and
I’d hope that wouldn’t get on my nerves too badly. Maybe it would feel like I
was in the middle of a movie. Perhaps a boring movie, but, ya know. What can
you do?

Would
you rather your books be bound and covered with human skin or made out of
tissue paper?

I
would choose the tissue paper for sure!

Would you rather read naked in front of a packed room or have no
one show up to your reading?

I’ll
choose the latter. I hope and pray that never happens, though! That’s one of
those things every writer fears, I think. Ask me this again after I’ve been lifting
weights for a few months. I’m just getting started with that.

Would
you rather your book incite the world’s largest riot or be used as tinder in
everyone’s fireplace?

I’m
going to go with the riot as long as it’s non-violent and for a great cause.

Would you rather give up your computer
or pens and paper?

Although
I wrote exclusively with paper, pens, and pencils for a long time, I’d go with
giving up pens and paper. I rely on my computer so much now as a writer.

Would you rather have every word of your favorite novel tattooed
on your skin or always playing as an audio in the background for the rest of
your life?

I
will go with having each word tattooed on my skin. I don’t have any tattoos at
the moment, so that would be a first experience.

Would
you rather meet your favorite author and have them turn out to be a total
jerkwad or hate a book written by an author you are really close to?

I’ll
go with the second scenario. I’ve been very lucky to meet some of my heroes,
and luckily none have turned out to be jerkwads.

Would
you rather your book have an awesome title with a really ugly cover or an
awesome cover with a really bad title?

I’ll
go with having an awesome cover with a bad title. Contrary to what they’re
advised, people do have a way of judging a book by its cover.

Would
you rather write beautiful prose with no point or write the perfect story
badly?

I’d
choose to have the perfect story that’s badly written.

Would
you rather write only embarrassingly truthful essays or write nothing at all?

I
pretty much have written embarrassingly truthful essays, so I will go with that
one. I am pretty open and honest. I also embarrass myself on a regular basis,
so I have lots of potential material.

Would
you rather your book become an instant best seller that burns out quickly and
is forgotten forever or be met with mediocre criticism but continue to sell
well after you’re gone?

I’d go with a book that
continues to sell well after I’m gone. I’d love to write a book that resonates
with people beyond my lifetime. One of the biggest thrills that I’ve
experienced from the publication of my first novel is hearing from people who
were touched by it. So I would love it if people would continue to read it and
get something out of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin Raven is the human who once belonged to the greatest
dog that ever lived. "Next Stop: Nina" is Robin's debut novel. She
has several other works of fiction that she hopes to share in the near future. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Robin grew up in a nearby town
called Saraland, and her hometown is a lovely place that still inspires her. As
an adult, Ms. Raven has mostly lived in Los Angeles and New York City, so she
also considers those cities to be home.

Robin blogs at RobinRaven.com and often has her nose in a
book. If she's not reading or writing, you can probably find Robin daydreaming
about adopting a rescue donkey. Delicious vegan food rocks her world. So does
effective altruism. In addition to being an author, Robin has worked as a
professional actress. She loves to connect with fellow writers and readers, so
feel free to say hi to her on social media.

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I have been buried beneath small press and self-published review copies since 2009. My passion for supporting the small press and self publishing communities has driven me out into the world wide web to demonstrate alternative ways to spread the word about amazing publishers, authors, and novels you might never had heard of. Feeding your reading addiction, one book at a time.